26 49(7) As of 1994, members of the Plan de Sánchez community could bury some of their next of kin who had been murdered in the massacre in accordance with Mayan ceremonies, and their beliefs and spirituality.23 Decision of the Ombudsman’s office 49(8) On September 2, 1996, the Ombudsman’s office issued a decision on the massacres in Plan de Sánchez, Chichupac and Río Negro, all in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, in which he concluded that these massacres were carried out as part of a premeditated State policy. The decision established the responsibility of State agents, including the PAC, the military agents, and members of the Army and highranking officers, for not having protected the local population and for attempting to cover up the crime to ensure the impunity of the perpetrators and masterminds.24 Criminal proceedings 49(9) On February 13, 1997, Salvador Jerónimo Sánchez, Buenaventura Manuel Jerónimo, Adrián Cajbon Jerónimo, Benjamín Manuel Jerónimo, Pedro Grave Cajbon and Juan Manuel Jerónimo, requested the Baja Verapaz Judge of First Instance for Criminal Affairs to admit them as adherent plaintiffs in proceedings Nos. 391/93 and 344/95. On February 25, 1997, the Baja Verapaz Judge of First Instance for Criminal Affairs admitted them in this capacity. The said individuals requested the Attorney General’s office, through the Ministry of Defense, to determine the names of: the persons who comprised the military patrol that carried out the massacre in the Plan de Sanchéz village; the Minister of Defense at the time of the massacre; the Chief of General Staff; the Commanders of military zone No. 5 headquartered in Salamá; the Commanders of the detachment headquartered in Rabinal; and the officers who commanded the Guatemalan Army on the day of the events; also, the hierarchic structure of the Army at that time, identification of the officers who headed it, and determination of their responsibilities. They also requested that the ballistic material found in the clandestine cemetery should be examined by an expert; that the statements of the witnesses should be received, and that the forensic anthropology reports on the exhumations should be assessed. The Coban Judge of First Instance ordered the Prosecutor’s office to ask the Ministry of Defense for the information requested by the adherent plaintiffs. The Attorney General’s office requested the Ministry of Defense to submit the information requested by the plaintiffs. In file No. 1618/97 processed by the Coban Criminal Court of First Instance, there is no record of a reply from the Ministry of Defense to the requests for information from the Guatemalan judicial authorities. No State agent, even those accused by the plaintiffs, was summoned to provide testimony; consequently, no one was investigated. The status of the criminal proceeding is unknown at this time.25 49(10) The surviving victims of the massacre are as follow:26 23 Cf. Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre, supra note 17, para. 42(30). 24 Cf. Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre, supra note 17, para. 42(37). 25 Cf. Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre, supra note 17, paras. 42(38), 42(42), 42(43), 42(44), 42(45) and 42(46). 26 The victims included are those who appear in proven fact 42(48) of the judgment on merits delivered by the Court on April 29, 2004, and according to the lists of surviving victims submitted by the representatives in the appendixes to the final arguments brief and to the helpful evidence.